Next step…college by Allison O’Hagan, staff reporter

Now that the second class of WJPS has left for higher institutions of learning, much change has come with their new environments, or dorm lives. Attending shorter or longer classes, and having more freedom are just some of the many things that the alumni has experienced in the first few months of their college lives.

Cece Howard, who attends Delaware State University, lives on campus. Because of the distance from her home town of Queens, she says that campus life to her is “A real sense of independence.” Howard chose to go to Delaware State because this school offers Broadcast Journalism, her major of choice. An additional reason for Howard’s choice was that she wanted to get out of New York.

Class president of 2011, Giananthony Damasco is one of the newest freshman living on Marist College’s campus in Poughkeepsie, New York. He says the best of his college experience thus far is “the freedom to do what I want when I want on my time.” Other benefits to his new college life include the small classes at Marist and Damasco has “never have more then 28, the campus is beautiful and [his] dorm suits [his] taste.”

A typical college experience usually consists of living on campus, gaining independence and learning to live alone for once with a roommate instead of family. For Howard and Damasco, being away from their homes is no problem but for others, staying home was the better choice for them.

Kristina Papa, decided to stay local and she currently attends Queensborough Community College in Bayside, Queens. Currently, she is a Liberal Arts Major. Papa stated that the best thing about college is “the people, because they are so friendly and open.” She’s also involved in plays and other clubs “so I am always busy and never bored.”

Transitions from high school to college can often be very confusing and possibly a difficult experience for many new freshmen because of the change in environment. For Kristina the transition from high school to college, “Hasn’t been bad at all. Yes, the work load is a little heavier, and the hours are a little crazy, but I have an hour to two hour breaks between classes, so they are manageable.” Livianette Cabearea also a fellow graduate, is studying at Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn New York, said that her transition experience was “more relaxed.”

WJPS students have also been decorated with various scholarship money as well. Alumni, Amanda Paolotti was awarded a portion of a scholarship to pursue a major in various outlets of Journalism and Media at Adelphi University.

When asked about her choice in colleges Amanda said, “I decided to go there because I was accepted into their Levermore Global Scholars Program and their communication studies allows to me to find a concentration in various outlets of journalism and media.”

Every graduate has left a legacy behind at school and now as they go onto college, they will make an even bigger impact. Although as interesting as their new college life is, Livianette amongst others still say they miss high school.